Liverpool made it three wins out of three and Manchester City got back to winning ways on another eventful weekend in the English top flight.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main talking points from the key fixtures in the Premier League.
Liverpool and Manchester City remain in a different class
"They're a million miles away from Man City and Liverpool"😔— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 21, 2019
Last season’s top two finished a long way clear of the rest and already look primed to turn the title battle into a two-horse race. European champions Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Arsenal on Saturday and City bounced back from their home draw with Tottenham to enjoy victory by the same scoreline at Bournemouth on Sunday. It is early days of course, but it is tough to see the Premier League trophy heading anywhere but Anfield or the Etihad Stadium come the end of the season.
Solskjaer gets a reality check
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is experienced enough not to have been carried away by the win over Chelsea on the opening weekend, but subsequent results will have hammered home just how much work remains to be done to get his side back into the title picture. A draw at Wolves was overshadowed by the row over who should take penalties and United missed another against Crystal Palace as the visitors walked away with their first win at Old Trafford in 30 years.
Watford are in trouble
💬 “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we’ve got two big games this week and we want to get that good feeling back desperately.”— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) August 25, 2019
Including last season’s 6-0 FA Cup final hammering by Manchester City, Watford have lost seven games in succession following the 3-1 home loss to West Ham. Javi Gracia’s side have also not kept a clean sheet in 18 games and lie bottom of the Premier League table after what had looked a relatively easy start to the season.
Are Leicester set to shake things up again?
Anyone fancying a bet on Leicester to win the title could probably get similar odds to the 5,000-1 on offer before their remarkable success in the 2015-16 season, especially given the strength of title favourites Liverpool and Manchester City. But even if that sounds a little far-fetched, Brendan Rodgers’s side have made an impressive start to the season with two draws and a win and it will be interesting to see how they come through the next few games, which include a trip to Old Trafford and a home tie with Tottenham.
Wolves could be feeling effects of European adventure
RAUL MAKES NO MISTAKE FROM THE SPOT!! pic.twitter.com/5rNgEHcsPZ— Wolves (@Wolves) August 25, 2019
Three draws to start the Premier League season is hardly the stuff of nightmares, but Wolves could be paying the price for trying to qualify for the Europa League this season, just as Sunday’s opponents Burnley did in the last campaign. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side beat Torino 3-2 in Italy on Thursday night to take a major step towards the group stages of Europe’s second tier competition, but struggled to raise their game at Molineux on Sunday and needed a last-gasp penalty to salvage a point.
